Selling a dead or junk car in Maple Heights

When a car turns into junk

Section 660.045 sweeps in vehicles of all kinds once they are abandoned, wrecked, half dismantled or unable to run. A vehicle that requires a license is junk as well “unless a current valid license has been issued for the operation of such automobile or other transportation device.” No owner, occupant or person in possession of a property may leave junk there, let it stay, or let someone else drop it off. Maple Heights assigns enforcement to two directors, Service and Safety.

The penalties:

• First offense: a minor misdemeanor.
• Any later offense: a third-degree misdemeanor.
• Every day the junk stays is a separate offense.
• Old tires: when the junk is automotive tires, the violation is a first-degree misdemeanor.

So a stack of worn-out tires beside a dead car is the costlier problem of the two. The section gives no notice period before a charge.

Streets: 2 to 6 a.m., and snow

The resident guide quotes Section 452.14: no one may park on any public street between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m., every day. Beyond that, Section 452.05 gives a curbside car 48 hours before it can be ordered into storage, unless the chief has been told why it's there, and it forbids dumping an abandoned junk car on another person's land for more than 72 hours without consent.

Maple Heights' snow emergency starts with 2 inches in a 24-hour span. From then until the Mayor or the Chief announces that plowing is finished, cars can't be parked or abandoned on city streets (a passenger stop of up to three minutes and loading of up to 30 are allowed), and violators are towed and charged under Section 404.05. Both parking-ban ordinances, overnight and snow, are posted as PDFs on the police page.

Calls and tows

The police non-emergency number is 216-662-1234. The administrative office is 216-662-6035, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Building Department, 5353 Lee Road, (216) 663-4094, enforces the property maintenance, building and housing, and zoning codes.

After a tow, Maple Heights police notify the registered owner of the removal, the reason and the storage location. The owner answers in person at the department, bringing ID and ownership papers, and clears fines or bond as the court decides. The pound operator then needs the release form and full payment for towing and storage.

Bedford is the nearest title office

No BMV counter handles Ohio titles; county clerks of courts do. From Maple Heights, the closest is Cuyahoga's Rockside Road office in Bedford, number 22121, about 2 miles east as the crow flies. Next come Summit County's office in Northfield Village, roughly 5 miles south, and the clerk's downtown Cleveland location on E. 9th St., roughly 9 miles northwest.

On sale day, a notary has to witness your signature on the assignment; Ohio accepts nothing less. Keep your plates, since the registration expires at the transfer. If the title is gone, start with junk car with no title.

Getting an offer

Online or at (877) 421-6008, run through the details: make, model and model year, roughly how far it's been driven, whether it still turns over, and which tires or parts are gone. Then tell us where the title is. More nearby: Cleveland and Parma.